I'll Fly Away
by Tritensr
Summary: He almost died that day. She never did find her powers. Yet, they won. But, for Revali and Zelda, the days have gotten harder and harder. Perhaps that's why their friendship started, and everything that happened after. So goes the struggle to let go, move on, and all our desires to fly away.


The Rise and Fall of Calamity Ganon

* * *

He remembered that day like no other.

No one could blame him, for they all remembered it; the details trailed right before their eyes almost every day. Everyone shared a story. If someone could scribe it, the ink would be written with blood and the words would smear with tears, and the prose would rage and cry like hellfire. A day to remember, for many reasons, too many to count.

He almost died that day. But he had been lucky. Too lucky. Luck wasn't something he particularly believed in, either, although he used it as a mockery at times, of people who didn't try. But that day, he found himself questioning what side of the line he stood on, for just a moment.

It began with a rumble, of which he flew to see giant purple smoke and lightning strikes rise out of the castle in a cyclone. No one on the ground could see as clear as he could, and no one saw the fear clouding his eyes as he saw it. He had heard in stories of the might of the monster, but never before could he imagine the sheer size and menace of that entrance.

The evil, conceived from its parents, malice and hatred, was finally sliding from the womb forged ten thousand years ago. There was nothing to stop it now.

He had the advantage of flight, and made a beeline for his Beast. Thanks to his agility in the air, he was the first to reach his Beast, even before the young Zora girl. He wasted no time charging the beam to soon strike Hyrule Castle. It was the plan to have charged the beam before the Rise of Ganon. But it had come sooner than expected. They had no time left.

At least the collected Guardians were near the Castle Town. Although the people down there were in the process of being evacuated, it was good to know they were protected by a few of those ancient machines. Along with the Divine Beasts themselves.

A short while after his laser found its marking point, the second one came from the Southeast Province in Necluda—he supposed he could call her his friend, Princess Mipha. Then from the Northeast, from Death Mountain. Then finally from the Southwest, in Gerudo Desert.

They were all here. It captivated him, the way those red beams from all four corners of Hyrule came together as one. There would never be another sight like it in ten thousand years. If he wasn't the one to defeat Ganon, then he could have this at least. Did it make up for the fact that he would only be a supporting character in the course of history?

Well, no. He had worked harder, built up endurance, cast aside many more tears and bruises and pleasures, than the Hero ever would. And he would stand to that fact for all time. Anything the Hero suffered, he suffered a lot worse. But nothing would ever compensate _him_.

The beams came up in a matter of seconds, but the charging of the attack on the monster would take much, much longer. It itched his feathers how much standing and loitering he did while waiting, only having to adjust every once in a while. The Hero was probably fighting his heart out this very second. Oh what he would give to be down there, fighting the beast.

His heart thudded against his ribcage, and blood pumped in his ears. It was here. All this time he had been calm before this day, he had never thought of what to feel during the inevitable event. If he hadn't been so on edge, he might've missed it.

A sound.

It was very faint, mind you, and could've been nothing but a strong current within the walls, but something about it was wrong. He adjusted himself around, trying to catch the source.

He couldn't describe it himself. The only thing he could think of was the sound of scratching or slight pings against a bronze bell, or the vibrations of a gong. It was something like a very low moan or breath, but even that description had its faults.

It edged at him. He quickly checked the room he stood in. When he found nothing, he checked every other chamber in the Beast. No matter where he went, he couldn't locate the source. Yet, the sound seemed to grow. It was enough for him to want to pluck every feather off of his head and fling them around. But he would never act like a panicking cucco, not in a million years.

He thought to check the outside. Even if it wasn't coming from there, at least he could have some peace from that soft racket within the walls of the machine. He didn't know it then, but that decision was one of many that saved his life. He flew out the main entrance and up on the mossy clearing.

Up on the wings of the beast, the moans were replaced by the loud spinning of the fans. It was a better sound that, for a moment, distracted him. But once landed, there was something else to worry about.

The smell. It was still faint, but even he with a horrible sense of smell could detect it. It was foul, like rotting meat or flesh. Or like a burning smell, like the scent of the lava in Death Mountain. Or like that smell that lingers when a skunk crossed the path. Or perhaps all three. Either way, it didn't belong there.

It wasn't just the smell, either. After a couple minutes after him pondering, thick, purple clouds began to hover around the beast, some appearing, then dissolving later only to appear again. Perhaps they were even the cause of the smell.

But either way, a smell or a sight or a sound, any fool could pick up in the first second that something was wrong. Very wrong.

_SCRRREEEEEEAAAAAHH_

The entire bird shifted and swung, making him lose his balance and grasp onto a column for support. If something wasn't wrong a minute ago, it was extremely wrong now. He had only heard that screech once before, when he had first entered Medoh through a dream-like state. He couldn't even remember what it was he had fought or even where he fought within that dream, and it became more fuzzy as time went on. But he remembered that screech that marked his accomplishment in taming the Beast. That time, it was a weary welcome. This was not like that.

It was a garbled mess, and in fact, in getting to know his way around the contraption, he was embarrassed to admit that he felt like he knew the ship personally. Like it had feelings, and emotions, and communicated through the rumble of the walls and sounds of the mechanical joints. It was ridiculous, and he never told anyone, but he considered it almost alive, and frequently talked to it when he was sure he was alone. This screech was not a welcome, and not even a battle cry. It was a painful scream, like it had been pierced with a spear. The machine wobbled around, like it was trying so hard to buck something off. It grew so intense that he flew a few meters above the floor just so he wouldn't shake.

Suddenly, it stopped. But it wasn't just the movement that stopped. A loud, sharp _blip _crossed his ears, and his jaw dropped as the laser pointed to the castle blinked on and off before disappearing entirely, and the entire system shifted from blue to gray. The only thing working were the motors keeping the machine in the air.

_What the hell is going on!_

Then it turned purple. Some wisps of foul purple smoke puffed from various areas of the bird. The mechanical whrrs and vibrations of the contraption were unfamiliar, and he came to the realization that it was no longer the same machine. And that meant it didn't recognize him either.

He snapped out of his confusion and only had one thought: the control room. He needed to get to the control room, before Ganon came out of its shell. He flew in the direction of the upper entrance of Medoh, where the updraft started. And yet, something even worse happened.

Just before he reached it, just when he was a few feet away, stone bars snapped from the roof of the entrance and fell hard, clasping into place on the floor. The pain from running into them hardly came close to the utter shock of that motion. He didn't even know that could happen.

Find another way in. That wasn't the only entrance. He frantically flew around to the open windows, only to find them completely shut. Under entrance? Barred. The draft windows? Closed. He checked the main entrance last. It was barred. Every hole in Medoh was covered. He couldn't get in.

No. No, this couldn't be. Ganon was going to pop out any second now, and if he couldn't get in to control the Divine Beast, there was no telling what could go wrong.

He flew back to the front entrance, and felt the stone of the bars. They were similar to the ones covering some entrances when they first tried taking Medoh. It was identified by the Princess and the Sheikah researchers as nothing but normal stone. Yet, it was strong; stronger than steel. Of _course _it was enchanted or some other bull by some stupid wacky Sheikah engineers. Steel was very hard to come by, but he was told it was one of the strongest metals there was around Hyrule. So this enchanted wall was stronger than that? Well, he still had to try.

And he did. Bomb arrow after arrow, three at a time he shot into the door. When the dust cleared a second later, he ran to the door to see if there was any hope at all. But not even a dent was made. And he only had one bomb arrow left.

In his frustration, he screeched at the bars and thrust his fist into the bar. He pummeled it again and again as if it would do anything. Loosen the thing, perhaps? But no, nothing came of it. He had wasted eight bomb arrows and the blood of his knuckles trying to pry it open, and it was all a waste. He had done the trials, and done every single thing right, had taken his fate as the support, but it didn't matter. Ganon would still come.

Hyrule was going to die.

He beat his fist again into the bar, when he heard another noise from behind him. A strange metallic hum, something similar to the rhythmic sounds of the Sheikah Slate. He spun around, and froze in shock.

An orb had formed before him, surrounded by blue light and ever expanding. Then, in a flash, it grew to a tremendous size and took a humanoid-esque form surrounded by light. Then it blasted to reveal that _thing_.

That tall beast's body was running with big purple vein-like structures, sticky and pulpy, malice running through its veins and giving off that putrid odor he had smelled earlier. It hovered in the air and stared down at him menacingly with its lens. It was the most sickly creature he had ever seen. But it was…familiar.

As soon as it formed, he already had his bow pulled and readied into a fighting stance. The first thing he noticed was its arm, or rather, the cannon attached as its arm. This thing could shoot, and shoot deadly. He was taught since the time he first learned to shoot that, in a bow on bow match, it was all about who drew first. This was no different, but the shot on the thing's part would be instant. He would have to be on the defensive this entire fight.

He greatly underestimated its power. He tried dodging, which worked at first, but the thing got frustrated and caused an uproar of powerful whirlwinds. He thought if he could just fly past them, then he could get a shot in. But the tip of his wing brushed the edge of the whirlwind, and he was sent in spiraling in the swirl.

The thing shot beam after beam into the eye. Some shots missed. But many either brushed his feathers or hit him clean. He passed by through determination alone, though each flesh wound and bold of light was like his body was slowly being lit on fire. He screamed and writhed in pain, and when the wind died down, he collapsed onto the ground.

The thing was behind him, he could sense it. He could sense it's pleasure, it's pride, as if it were his very own. It must've loved to see him like this, on the floor, beaten to a pulp so he could barely stand. He had faced many foes before, but none like this. It was bigger, and so much stronger than he was. In the state he was in, he wasn't sure if he could even be faster than him.

No.

He wouldn't be. He refused.

Quick as a blink, he grabbed his bow, spun around, and slid the one bomb arrow he had left. The thing was caught by surprise; how could someone who'd taken this much damage still try?

In a split second, the arrow released, right into the thing's eye. It shrieked, and doubled over.

_This is my chance,_ he thought. He quickly pulled in three shock arrows—the next best elemental, and caused an updraft that sent him in the air. He was excited, too excited, to remember that yes indeed, he had not fought this beast before. And the beast had a trick up its sleeve.

It didn't happen always, but when it did, it was automatic. A nifty little defense mechanism, within every Sheikah automaton. If they got hit with a weakening blast, a beam fired right away through the eye. The thing detected thermal energy rising just upwards of seventy three degrees. If it could grin, it would. All it did as it fell was it raise its head oh so gently to look at the stupid bird, and then _BAM_.

The stupid bird fell.

And fell.

And fell.

What thoughts run through one's mind when they're falling from the sky? Does their life flash between their eyes? Do they, for a split second, see the future? Do they see all the possibilities that will never come, or the unimaginable amount of time they spent doing a task that will never be recognized? Normal people would. You would.

But this stupid bird thought of something else. He thought of the legend, of the old Princess, the old Hero, and the old Champions.

The old Champions. Presumably, and one could guess as much, that the Princess's name was Zelda, and that the Hero's name was Link. There is a pattern with those names in recorded history. Those two names appeared almost everywhere. That's why Link became more of a household name in recent century history, and how Zelda became the traditional name of the royal females. But the old Champions.

_What were their names?_

He couldn't remember hearing their names even once. How strange of him, to be a Champion himself, and not know who his predecessor was. Of course, he was sure they never fought a monster that invaded their ship and closed every entrance to it, and that alone placed him higher.

_What was the Champion Medoh's name? _

He just didn't know. Maybe no one knew. Maybe it didn't even matter. But he knew one thing.

_My name is Revali. And they _will _remember me._

Out of everything; the going outside before the trapping; the being observant enough to even hear a sound, _this_ is what saved him. This one little flickering thought could move millions, and taught him more about himself than anything ever could. And right now, it told him to spread his wings. Despite the burning and aching of his wings, he caught an air current. It was small, but it was enough.

He could barely see the inclined rock pillar he was careening towards. But as he neared it, a sudden idea struck his head. Landing on top of it would assure his death, but perhaps he could use it to slow himself down. And it would be painful. Very, very painful.

He felt like he was flying faster than he ever had, as the air pushed up below him and lifted his stomach. It would be so easy to give up, to let it all end in the water. But he wouldn't be.

_They will remember. They will._

He spread his wings and flipped himself over, legs facing downward. He fell just past the the thing and grabbed at the side of the pillar with his wings. His stomach lurched as the wind was punched out of him.

He screamed; it was like his wings would rip clean off from his body, and they probably would have if he had kept to it. But he launched off with his back legs, spread his wings again, and an updraft was created that helped him glide to a rock ledge under a cliff that was flat. Oh sweet flat ground.

He was so lost and hooked on adrenaline that he failed to recognize the feeling of thick liquid slide from his wings and body. He sat up against the rocky wall, unsure of how his pain felt. It should be unimaginable, so why couldn't he feel it? He looked up to the sky, and chuckled, despite himself. He sailed the firmament with grace but recently, he didn't take as much time to sit down and embrace it. It might as well have not been named firmament.

The blue sky started to turn black. Wasn't that interesting? His bones grew weaker from holding himself up. So he let them fall, and he laid on the ground. So lost, so bewildered that he didn't hear the flapping of wings come near him, or the familiar shadow above him. But he did hear his name being called, over and over. He assumed it was his own inner thoughts.

_Revali!_

He liked his name. He never did ask if it was his father or mother who gave it to him.

_Revali! _

Why did his thoughts sound closer? Oh well.

_REVALI! _

He blacked out.

* * *

He didn't dream, he simply eased out from darkness. He heard whispers from the shadows. He tried to make them out.

_Fell...scream...blood...injuries…_

What was that about injuries? He tried moving his body, letting out a groan.

_Wait...waking up!_

He opened his eyes, which were greeted by extreme sunlight. He could see three figures above him, but couldn't recognize them through the unfiltered light.

"He's waking up!" He knew that voice, all too well, in fact. He sat up a little, realizing that he was lying on a bed. He groaned and clenched his wingtips. Yes, that voice was familiar.

"Vashti?" he asked, shutting his eyes again to let them adjust.

"Revali!" The same female's voice called. He opened eyes again. Yes, it was her, the bright pink Rito from his childhood, Vashti. He could see her smile. "Revali, you're alive! I saw ye fall, I heard ye scream, so I came for you. Other people came, too, to help. Ye were bleeding so hard."

"I hoped ye would make it, boy." Another female voice.

"I had my doubts, but he was determined." A male voice.

Revali looked up to them and recognized them both. Meera, the keeper of Swallow's Roost, and Fakore, the healer. He knew where he was, now. How could he not know that he was in Rito Village, his hometown, in the healer's hut? He looked down at himself, and all the bandages covering him. Parts of his wings and his torso were wrapped in gauze.

"You had a bad fall, Revali. You didn't die, amazingly, but I'm afraid you were injured, and blacked out." Revali's eyes widened as Fakore explained. Blacked out? No, that couldn't be.

"How long was I out?" he asked, panicked.

"About an hour," he answered. An _hour_! Ganon had probably already risen! He was probably attacking the kingdom right this second, and Medoh wasn't preparing to attack!

"I have to go back." He threw the blankets off of him and slid to the side, when he felt a very forceful wing suddenly push, practically squeezing his leg.

"Yer spittin' nonsense, lad!" That was Meera, and her hardy voice. Revali tensed as her old yellow irises baring into him. But he was surprised to see her under eyes wet. Had tears made them that way? Surely not; she never had tears. There were none left for her by the time that cigarette in her other wing had first been put there some years ago. Or, at least, she insisted so. "Yer goin' nowhere until yer wounds 'ave healed!"

"But Ma, he's a Champion! He has to go to stop Ganon from coming!" Revali hadn't expected that Vashti would speak up before even he did. He even blushed a bit as she said it. But Meera frowned and faced her daughter.

"No! And I won't hear another word of it! His wing is nearly broken and he's been beaten to a pulp! And he wants to _fight_ again? Fakore, tell him he can't go!" Fakore, who sat stiffly in the nearby stool, was uncomfortable being pulled into this. But he was the doctor. The truth appealed to neither party completely, but he sighed and delivered it as best as he could.

"Well, while his injuries are not something to 'walk off' exactly, nothing is technically broken and he can still fly, though it will be very painful. I don't know if he could take it." Meera breathed in and puffed out a wisp of smoke from her long cigarette—her way of silent protest.

Fakore was a brilliant man, but he could've learned a thing or to about the extent of stubborness from Revali. In his mind, there was nothing that could separate him from that ship hovering above the Village. It was waiting restlessly for its Champion to save it, and it was probably calling for him as they spoke.

"I'm going." Revali stood up, wincing a bit, but grabbing his bow and heading out. This too made him wince. His entire body was sore and ached like nothing he had felt before. He'd rather have felt the pain of being banged up from his updraft a hundred times more than what he felt now. It was like he was lit on fire for hours, then doused in water, then slept on the ground for months. But he still made painful strides to the entrance.

"Wait, Revali, I said you could _fly_. _Barely. _You got lucky once, from whatever you were fighting, but if you try to fight in your state, you won't make it. You'll die, son." He wasn't listening. He had wasted so much time already. He tried to run, but his leg gave in, and he doubled over. His leg didn't have spirit like Revali did. It had limits.

"Revali, wait, you're hurting yourself," he felt a gentle wing on his shoulder. He didn't even need her voice or her face to know it was Vashti. He was disappointed. Just a second ago, she was defending him. He could hurt himself all he needed to get back, and he stood back up just to prove it.

Vashti sighed. "I'm not saying you shouldn't go. But, Revali, let us help you. The entire Village can help." The entire Village? So that he wouldn't even be support, but one soldier in an army? No, he refused. But everything hurt, and he found himself doubting if he really could make it. If he did die, then who would control Medoh? But then he wouldn't even be a supporting role.

But was it more important than Hyrule?

He felt that touch again from Vashti. She knelt down to look into his eyes. He couldn't match those green eyes. "Let us help you. Ye don't have to do this on yer own."

Those eyes. If Ganon rose, they'd be gone. Everyone would be gone. Everyone in this Village and other villages like it, every man woman and child would be killed. The Champions. Zelda. Mipha. Meera. Vashti. All dead. It was in this one moment where he realized that it didn't matter what he was, or what role he played. He had something that would defeat Ganon. If he had been demoted, then so what? It didn't matter. They had a war to win.

So he agreed. They gathered up an army of Rito warriors within the Village, plus extras if anyone needed to fly back. Every ammunition was gathered for this, and a plan was established. There would be distractors to distract but dodge the defense beams that were surely up, while attackers would shoot them. Once Medoh's shield was down, they'd take down the _thing_ that was there. Once that happened, everyone would fly away to let Revali freely control it. He told them of the weak points and attacks of the monster, and that injuries could be sustained. But everyone was willing to help, and lay down their lives for their family and friends. All of them had something to fight for. Revali had no one but himself and Hyrule.

The plan worked exactly as expected. The shields broke, and, compared to an army, the monster looked like a small dog. Revali was embarrassed by how easy it was to hit now, although it was so painful to fly up here, and to pull back his bowstring.

A bundle of people got hit once they fought the monster. But out of everyone, there was only one who got hit so hard he was sent down, and that was Oryin, a young marshy-green male, about Revali's age. Revali knew he was in good hands with Fakore and Vashti, who was assisting Fakore. But, no matter if that was the only bad injury.

By the time Oryin left, the beast was already weakening. There were only so many targets it could keep track of, and they were so fast and merging together. It used whatever it could, whirlwinds, electromagnetic shocks and pulses, but nothing could be done. Finally, as it was on its last inch of power, it searched frantically for a target. There was one in the air, one that was so familiar in its thermal energy and vitals. Yes, it had fought this one before, surely. This one was strange, but was too weak to be a problem.

But this one was clever. This one knew all of its tricks. With a grin, this one took out a bomb arrow, and made the cleanest shot anyone had ever seen, right into the eye. It hit cleanly, followed by that lovely explosion, and a dying screech. A screech that meant the end. When it fell, it left no puddles of blood, only blue energy that faded into the air the second it hit the ground. Like blue dust. Dust almost killed them all.

But no one made this existential observation. They all cheered and yipped for joy. The purple smoke evaporated and the bars on Medoh opened up. They had won. After a short celebration, they followed the plan, and left the giant mechanical bird. It was all Revali now.

He could hear it, Ganon. Ganon had definitely awoke, and was alive. They were fighting it right now. No time to waste. He ran to the control room and fired up Medoh again. It worked; the bird fired up the laser again and it charged.

He checked the other parts of Hyrule. He could see chaos seething through in Central Hyrule. A purple something rose out of the Castle that looked like a hurricane. He could sense the powerful winds from here. Ganon was in the midst of it, he just knew it. He could sense something powerful in the middle. He couldn't see it, blocked by the hurricane, but he knew it was there. He knew.

There was only one laser up before his, and that was Mipha's, from Vah Ruta. Of course, he should've expected he was not the only one to be attacked. A queasy feeling shook within him. That brilliant Zora girl had done it, but what about the others? He doubted Medoh and Ruta could give them the power they needed to defeat Ganon. It would help, but not as much as it could.

But a few minutes later, another laser came on. It was Daruk! Oh, he never thought he would be so happy to think of that man up and on his sturdy legs. As Medoh charged, he waited for the final laser to come up. He waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But, nothing came of it. No laser came from that desert sea in the Southwest. He saw no divine beast climb back to the Gerudo Highlands. He saw nothing at all.

Medoh was finally charged. He couldn't worry about the fourth laser anymore.

It was strange how the Champions somehow connected, like a chain linked, or a long piece of tinsel wrapped around a tree. They were unaware of this. Somehow, it felt like a part of them broke somewhere, but the chain itself was still strong. Connected. At nearly the same exact time, all three beams charged. And all beams fired at the same time. It was magnificent, a spectacular light show at the heart of devastation.

The shriek that came after was powerful enough to cause an earthquake. The beast bellowed a loud storm of a roar that sent a shockwave through Hyrule. Revali could hear it, and feel the wind pushing past him, no doubt from the monster. He was shocked there was no crack in the ground from that shriek, but what shocked him even more was that it wasn't a dying one like he had heard from the thing. Ganon was still alive. He could feel him. Everyone could.

Revali growled. After everything, almost _dying_, the battles, the injuries, the _pain_, and yet, it still wasn't enough! Central Hyrule—no, _Hyrule_ couldn't wait any longer or for some Divine Beast's blast to charge. Why, oh why didn't Vah Naboris fire a shot? That blast could have done it, could have sealed the deal. It had to be _now._

Now. Or it was all of their heads.

Then, something amazing happened. Just when all was lost, and everyone in Hyrule lost hope, there came a light over the horizon. It was like the sun—no, something ten times brighter than the sun was lighting up the sky. Like Hylia herself came down from the heavens and outshined the darkness of Ganon. It was so beautiful, so _blindingly_ magnificent, that everyone must've thought Ganon had killed them and their loved ones were calling. The stunning sight almost caused his eyes to water and filled with tears.

It lasted thirty seconds. Thirty seconds that changed the lives of everyone. Thirty seconds that one could easily spend folding a pair of shorts. Thirty seconds that one could easily fall and snap out of a daydream. Thirty lovely, beautiful seconds. And then it was gone.

Revali waited. The entire Kingdom was still. He tried to feel something, to detect Ganon. But he couldn't. In fact, he couldn't sense his presence at all. That purple cyclone over Central Hyrule was starting to clear.

Had they done it? Was Ganon defeated?

Revali was out of breath. His knees dropped to the floor as he tried to comprehend the meaning of this. That light, was it the Princess? Had she done it? She found her powers after all! He had felt pity, even sad for her and her lack of powers. But in the last second, she came through! That must be it!

Revali couldn't wait. He set Medoh to fly in circles in the air while he flew out of the Beast. He couldn't fly as fast as he could be, but it was still faster than the average Rito's top speed. He could only fly because the excitement hid the burning, and he was probably hurting himself. He was even aware of this, but through grunts and growls, he made it to the Provence's sky.

What does one expect when it all is finally over? What images pop in the mind? Good thoughts, perhaps. Even Revali imagined blue skies replacing the purple smoke that just disappeared. He imagined cheering similar to that of the Rito warriors when they took back Medoh. He imagined something worthy and enchanting enough to happen after that brilliant light. Looking back now, it was too optimistic and stupid of him to expect such a thing.

Hell. It was Hell. The purple smoke left no blue in the sky, but thick smoke and a persistent smog. Fire spread throughout the land, so much of it on destroyed buildings, houses and farms. Every building he saw, buildings which he remembered flying over so many times, looked like it was reduced to rubble. There was no trace of a kingdom here, but a wasteland in Hell.

Revali coughed in the smoke, and found himself wishing to be on the ground. He landed a ways away from the fire, near what was once a small hut. He grabbed onto a former wall structure for support, nearly falling to the floor as he coughed. But he could bear with it.

Then a scream sounded from behind him. Revali snapped up immediately and turned his heel to see what caused it. From over the hill, there was a Hylian woman running down, her hands pulling what was probably her child son down with her. The two quickly ducked behind a fallen tree and the mother wrapped her arms around her child. Revali ran as fast as he could to them.

"What's wrong?"

"_Shh! _Duck behind here, or it'll find us!" the woman cried. Her child was sobbing in her arms, and she tried so hard to calm him despite the tears running down her cheeks.

"What? What are you hiding from?" It was then Revali heard mechanical sounds coming from over the hill. He stood his ground and quickly pulled out his bow, readying an arrow to fire at whatever it was. But as he saw the head pop up from over the hill and that spider-like body, he lowered his weapon.

It was a Guardian. Oh sweet bliss, a Guardian! Maybe things were looking up. They had tamed some of these things to protect the people.

The woman panicked as she heard the mechanical sounds coming closer. The same sounds that she had learned to fear over the past two hours. She covered the mouth of her son, who was still sobbing loudly. Her own mouth fell when she saw the Rito man still standing there, not doing anything. Wait, was he lowering his weapon? Was he aiming to get them all killed?

"What are you _doing?_ Duck, _please!_" she sobbed.

If he had not just fought a giant mechanical beast on Medoh, he would've thought the woman was crazy. But he noticed something wrong with the Guardian. It was purple. It moved fast and with hostility, just like that thing on Medoh. Yes, there was something wrong with this machine!

This was confirmed completely when the Guardian shined a laser that trained on him. Before he realized it, the machine was charging a shot and running over. Revali flew upwards on reflex and shot one of his arrows into the eye. It flew back, struggling to get up. Definitely the same weak spot.

Whenever he wore his scarf, he had a heightened sense of how much damage an enemy took. In this case, three bomb arrows to the eye did almost nothing. He had grabbed every bomb arrow in the Rito arsenal, which was forty. Would that be enough to defeat it? Well, he could at least buy the mother and her child time to escape.

He drew another arrow as it was still down. "Get out of here! Now!" The woman didn't need to be told twice as she ran away, carrying the boy in her arms.

Revali fired another. It fell, but still, little damage. He tried again and again. It was always the same: down, but undamaged. He wasn't going to stand here wasting his good arrows away. These things were simply too tough; he had to retreat for now. The woman had probably run out of the province.

He flew away when it was down, which seemed to work. He just couldn't believe it. The Guardians, too, had turned their backs on them? The Guardians that protected the old Champions and the old Princess? They trusted them to protect the people, and put them so near. And why, after Ganon was defeated, were they still active? What did that mean for Hyrule?

The smoke became too much again, and he landed in a clearing. He heard another voice, a very familiar one.

"_LINK! LINK!"_ The name of the Hero struck his ears over and over. It was hard to see through the fog, but across the clearing, he could make out a figure running through the wreckage. Before long, strands soft silky hair, stained white fabric, and nice pale skin showed through the smoke, and he knew who it was. Her voice, which to him sounded like chimes in the wind, now sounded broken and torn, like nails scratching stone tablets.

"Princess!" He called, running, though he was completely out of breath and each step felt like he was sinking into the ground. She paused briefly in her calls and running, taking a glance at him. He paused, too, as they both regarded each other with solemn eyes. He called for her again and neared her.

As he stood close to her, he could make out more of her features, and her eyes. Those were not the eyes of a girl who had found herself after seventeen years. These small bruises were not ones of a girl who fought a demon. Those tears were not of one who had won the war.

Revali heaved long breaths in and out. She did not look like there had been a victory, rather, her face looked almost exactly like the face of the mother and her child. Horrified. Scared. Broken. This made him doubt whatever it was he felt or saw, so he slid out a question, just to see.

"Did you...seal Ganon away?" The girl's eyes flew open and more tears streamed down her cheeks. She did not answer. Instead, she turned away and sprinted over the grass. Revali became confused and ran after her. She _had _sealed Ganon away, hadn't she? That's what that light was. That's why the storm cleared.

As she ran and he followed, the rain started to fall. No, pure water wasn't falling down on their heads, but black rain, or something similar to it, no doubt one of Ganon's final seals on this land. How fitting for this unfortunate place.

The Princess kept whispering to herself. Revali caught up to her, just to hear it. "He's here. He went over there. I saw him go. They went over there." Different incarnations of those phrases fell through her mouth, and at some point he tried to tune it out. But finally, she stopped, and something else came out.

"_LINK!"_ she shrieked. Revali stopped in his tracks.

There, with his back just a hundred feet away from them, was the Hero. The valiant Hero. The talented, never-speaking Hero. The Hero who fate gave the sword to on a silver platter. The ever noble Hero.

His powerful shoulders heaved up and down, the glow of the fires around him lighting his muscles and body. There, gripped tightly in his left hand, was the Sword that Seals the Darkness. It glowed, not just a brilliant blue, but a blinding white, as if a halo had been placed around it. He didn't seem to realize they were there.

"_LINK!" _the Princess called again. This time, the Hero did turn around to face them. Both of them gasped in horror as he did. His Champion tunic was torn, multiple gashes replacing where the fabric was supposed to be. The only part of his body that wasn't bloodied was a simple shiny necklace around his neck, only visible because his collar and everything around it was shredded. If one saw the original clothing piece, they'd be surprised it was a tunic, and that red wasn't the original color. If they saw the original Hero, they'd have questioned why his skin wasn't red. He was almost unrecognizable.

As always, an unreadable expression was sealed to his face. He glanced at both of them. Revali, who had once challenged those eyes with the confidence and gusto of a king, found he could not meet them fully. He found the blood dripping from every part of his body hard to watch. Then, the Hero did something no one could see coming in ten thousand years.

The Hero in red raised the Sword high above his head, and he smiled. He smiled like a child who had caught the biggest fish in the lake. A fish he had been searching for his whole life. It was a smile not for Revali or the Princess, but for the world. Neither of them saw him smile like he was then. It was a smile he hadn't done since childhood.

How does a man who strikes such a powerful pose and heaves a sword high above his shoulders suddenly give in and fall to the ground? He clings to the Sword with everything he's got, so much so that the weight heaves him, and he falls into it. But it doesn't feel like falling to him. No, it feels like flying. In a way, it is flying.

He found his wings, like everyone must. It was a shame it had to be like this. But he wasn't afraid. He was never afraid.

The red Hero, tall and proud, fell to the floor. The Princess shrieked and sprinted to him, holding his body in her arms. That's all it was: a body. What she was holding was a shell. A corpse.

Surreal wasn't a strong enough word to describe what Revali was feeling. The boy in the Princess's arms was what he wanted to be so badly. Surreal. It didn't quite fit the emotion.

The Hero's hand opened, and the glowing Sword rolled onto the ground. It's glow was no longer connected to the boy. It glowed for Ganon.

The Sword that Seals the Darkness.

No.

The Sword that Sealed the Darkness.

What was there to say after that? Now came a longer fight.

Guardians were taken out in raids that were organized and carried out immediately after. There was really no rest for Hyrule.

Nearby villages were destroyed, especially in the East. The damage stopped just before Kakariko, but Hateno Village managed to just barely make it.

The Rito were lucky enough to be over a canyon, and many of the Guardians lost themselves in the snow before the raids came. They helped a fair bit in the raids.

The Zora handled their own in their advantageous watery homeland. They were the most helpful in organizing the raids.

The Gorons didn't get many Guardians, but hot lava instead. Though it was for an hour or so, Rudania had caused so much damage to their living space. Not to mention refugees of other races were burned, some to death. But other than that, they also helped much in the raids.

The Gerudo were the second worst in the disaster, with Naboris wrecking their homes and terrorizing their people before they took back the Divine Beast. There were no Guardians, but that wasn't a consolation.

And of course, Central Hyrule. Besides the Castle, the villages and farms and outposts and towns were wiped clean off. Once the wealthiest and liveliest provence, standing tall with might, it was now smashed into smithereens beneath their feet.

What happened after the raids? A hero was buried. An archer returned home, with no answer. A princess sat back in her room, no longer looking into the beyond. A king, escaped but damaged, sighed and went back to work.

Now was the time for reconstruction.

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Author's Note: I do not like making author's notes, but it is important. As of recently before the publishing of this first chapter, Breath of the Wild 2 was announced for development. Most elements of this story were created long before the announcement. So while I apologize if there are inconsistencies when that game releases, I will not go back on important aspects of the story to satisfy that canon. It will simply have to be an extreme alternate universe, like it already is. Thank you.


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